Epidemiological Surveillance and Amphibian Assemblage Status at the Estación Experimental De San Lorenzo, Sierra Nevada De Santa Marta, Colombia
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Official journal website: Amphibian & Reptile Conservation amphibian-reptile-conservation.org 10(1) [General Section]: 7–19 (e114). Epidemiological surveillance and amphibian assemblage status at the Estación Experimental de San Lorenzo, Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Colombia 1,*Luis Alberto Rueda-Solano, 2Sandra V. Flechas, 1María Galvis-Aparicio, 1Andres A. Rocha-Usuga, 3Edgar Javier Rincón Barón, 4Borish Cuadrado-Peña, and 5Rebeca Franke-Ante 1Facultad de Ciencias Básicas, Universidad del Magdalena, Santa Marta, COLOMBIA 2Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, COLOMBIA 3Instituto de Biología, Universidad de Antioquia, Medellín, COLOMBIA 4Parque Nacional Natural Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, COLOMBIA 5Parques Nacionales Naturales de Colombia, Territorial Caribe, Santa Marta, COLOMBIA Abstract.—Amphibian population declines and extinctions have occurred in conserved sites or protected areas far from anthropogenic activities as a result of emerging infectious diseases such as chytridiomycosis. Regular epidemiological surveillance, monitoring of key species, and the implementation of biosecurity protocols are fundamental actions for the in-situ conservation of amphibian fauna. Since 2008 biosecurity protocols have been implemented for all personnel that enter the Estación Experimental de San Lorenzo, a partly mountainous protected and conserved area of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta with a high diversity of endemic and endangered amphibians. Semiannual disease screenings of amphibians were carried out, as well as an amphibian inventory and a survey of species of the genus Atelopus. To-date no mass mortality events have been reported and Bd has not been detected. Nevertheless, some individuals of Ikakogi tayrona and Pristimantis megalops showed symptoms of disease, the latter of which included individuals affected with skin tumors. Deformities in individuals of Atelopus were also observed. The implementation of epidemiological surveillance, monitoring of key amphibian species, and biosecurity protocols are important strategies for the conservation management of the endemic amphibians within the protected area of the Sierra Nevada of Santa Marta. Key words. Anura, Atelopus, Pristimantis, tumors, chytridiomycosis, disease screening, mortality events, health, dis- ease, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, Bd Citation: Rueda-Solano LA, Flechas SV, Galvis-Aparicio M, Rocha-Usuga AA, Rincón-Barón EJ,Cuadrado-Peña B, Franke-Ante R. 2016. Epide- miological surveillance and amphibian assemblage status at the Estación Experimental de San Lorenzo, Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Colombia. Amphibian & Reptile Conservation 10(1) [General Section]: 7–19 (e114). Copyright: © 2016 Rueda-Solano et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommer- cialNoDerivatives 4.0 International License, which permits unrestricted use for non-commercial and education purposes only, in any medium, provided the original author and the official and authorized publication sources are recognized and properly credited. The official and authorized publication credit sources, which will be duly enforced, are as follows: official journal titleAmphibian & Reptile Conservation; official journal website <amphibian- reptile-conservation.org>. Received: 02 March 2015; Accepted: 09 June 2015; Published: 31 March 2016 Academic Editor and Translation: Mayra Oyervides, The University of Texas-Pan American, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Introduction some level of threat (Baillie et al. 2010; IUCN 2014) and additionally about a quarter of amphibian species During the last decades amphibian population declines are classified as Data Deficient (DD, IUCN 2014), which and extinctions have been observed around the world, makes it more difficult to determine the actual status causing concern from academic, scientific, and of populations. Colombia harbors approximately 215 governmental entities (Gascon et al. 2007; Mendelson threatened amphibian species, which represent slightly et al. 2006; Stuart et al. 2008). Close to 41% of more than a fourth of its entire amphibian fauna (Acosta- amphibian species worldwide are categorized under Galvis 2014), making Colombia the country with the Correspondence. Email: *[email protected] (Corresponding author) Amphib. Reptile Conserv. 7 March 2016 | Volume 10 | Number 1 | e114 Rueda-Solano et al. greatest number of threatened amphibian species in the are still vulnerable to the threat imposed by Bd and other world (IUCN 2014). Nevertheless, some species have emerging diseases. For example, it is known that for the experienced serious declines while others remain stable. Parque Nacional Natural Gorgona, Bd has been present In addition entire lineages have been affected almost to for at least eight years (Flechas et al. 2012), however there the brink of extinction, as reported for the species of the is no evidence of declines. Additionally, amphibians are genus Atelopus (La Marca et al. 2005; Lötters 2007), vulnerable to diseases produced by aquatic pathogens, which in Colombia 76% (33 of 43) of the species are due to their dependency on aquatic environments. (Bosch categorized as Endangered and Critically Endangered 2003). For this reason authorities and administrators (IUCN 2014; Acosta-Galvis 2014). of protected areas in Colombia consider emerging Although habitat destruction continues to be the diseases (especially chytridiomycosis) a challenge to the main cause of population declines and extinctions protection of threatened amphibians. worldwide (IUCN 2014), it is puzzling that many species The implementation of recurrent epidemiological have disappeared in well conserved, remote areas such surveillance, monitoring of key amphibians species, and as primary forests in protected refuges (Crawford et biosecurity protocols, become fundamental to the in situ al. 2010; Crump et al. 1992; Lips et al. 2003; Pounds conservation of amphibian assemblages in protected ar- et al. 2006). We now have a better understanding of eas. This way, early alerts are generated and can be used the pathogenic microscopic fungus Batrachochytrium to implement and carry out the best management prac- dendrobatidis (Bd; Longcore et al. 1999), which causes tices in a timely manner, thus reducing Bd (or disease) the disease known as chytridiomycosis, one of the outbreaks and transmission. This paper shows the imple- leading factors behind mass mortality events previously mentation of a pilot program (the first program of its kind considered enigmatic. This fungus interferes with in the country) of these actions (surveillance, monitoring, the process of osmoregulation and affects electrolyte and protocols for amphibian species implemented for balance, which often leads to the death of susceptible disease control) set in a protected area, the Parque Na- individuals (Voyles et al. 2009). Furthermore, Bd seems cional Natural Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, considered to inhibit the immune response of its hosts (Fites et al. one of the principle centers for amphibian endemism in 2013) which may present symptoms such as lethargy, Colombia (Lynch et. al. 1997). abnormal postures, and hyperemia (Berger et al. 2000; Daszak et al. 1999). Materials and Methods In Colombia, there are about 565 protected areas (RUNAP 2011), of these, 58 are administered by Study Area the Parques Nacionales Naturales de Colombia, and constitute approximately 11% of the continental territory The Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta (SNSM) was declared (PNNC 2015). These areas safeguard the country’s a reserve of the Biosphere in 1979 by United Nations Ed- biodiversity and represent a refuge for amphibian ucational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNES- assemblages, including endemic species or species with CO). Situated within three departments of the Colombian narrow distributions, which may be susceptible to the loss Caribbean (Fig. 1, 2A.); 383,000 hectares belong to the and fragmentation of their habitat. However, these areas protected area (PNNC 2015). This area, comprises mul- Fig. 1. Map of the Serrania de San Lorenzo, Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Colombia. Red square area highlights the Estación Experimental de San Lorenzo to 2,200 meters. Amphib. Reptile Conserv. 8 March 2016 | Volume 10 | Number 1 | e114 Epidemiological surveillance and amphibian assemblage status November, with a dry period between December through March (Tamaris-Turizo et al. 2007). The mean annual temperature is 12.8 °C, the mean annual precipitation is 2,446 mm and the relative humidity oscillates between 73–98% (Tamaris-Turizo and López-Salgado 2006). Epidemiological Surveillance Since 2008, population census have been performed employing the visual encounter survey (VES) meth- od (Rodda et al. 2001; Rueda et al. 2006; Heyer et al. 1994) in determining numbers of animals with clinical signs of diseases, present deformities and/or individuals found dead in the surrounding areas of the Estación Ex- perimental San Lorenzo. Epidemiological surveillance has been carried out through programmed visits every six months by researchers and biology students from the Universidad de Magdalena and through scheduled or nonscheduled visits by staff of the Parque Nacional Natural SNSM. We looked for anurans presenting leth- argy, macroscopic lesions, abnormal postures, hyper- emia, ulcers or the presence of fungi or other corporal anomaly, such as deformities. Data was collected for all individuals presenting clinical signs of a potential Bd in- fection.